Our Beliefs

THE BIBLE

We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the text of the original manuscripts of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, which alone constitute the inerrant Word of God.

We believe the Bible supports using a grammatical, historical method of interpretation in light of the progress of revelation. Thus, we believe that the Bible is the clear, sufficient, and supreme authority for all belief, life, and ministry.

THE TRUE GOD

We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead: one immutable and omnipotent God, omniscient in all things past, present, and future, who eternally exists in three equal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

JESUS

We believe in the deity, virgin birth, perfect humanity, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only means of salvation from sin and the sole mediator between God and man.

HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, through whose ministry believers today are, at the moment of salvation, regenerated, baptized into Christ and His body, indwelt, sealed, gifted, and empowered for service.

We believe that gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to build up the Body of Christ. We believe that the sign gifts of the Spirit were temporary, providing revelation for the church and authenticating the ministry of the apostles.

ANGELS AND DEMONS

We believe in the personal existence of angels as created spirit beings. God’s holy angels are ministering spirits. Satan and other fallen angels can influence believers, but believers cannot be demon possessed.

CREATION

We believe that God created the universe (including mankind) in six literal, consecutive 24-hour days apart from the process of evolution. We believe that man was created in the image of God and retains that image after the fall. Therefore, we affirm the dignity of human life and affirm that all people are worth pursuing for the cause of Christ.

FAMILY

We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church. Life begins at conception and children are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.

HUMANITY

We believe that all human beings, except Jesus Christ, are totally depraved and guilty before God as a result of the fall of Adam. We commit acts of sin because we are sinners by nature.

SALVATION

We believe that the Triune God saves sinners by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. God secures their eternal salvation, having sovereignly elected them to be willing recipients of His grace in Christ, whose blood was shed for the remission of sins. We believe that salvation is evidenced through good works that are part of the pursuit of a holy life. We believe that every Christian has the joyous responsibility of making disciples in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission.

THE CHURCH

We believe that the universal Church is the body of Christ, comprised of all true believers from Pentecost until the Rapture. Jesus Christ is the sole head of the Church.

We believe that the local church is an assembly of immersed believers, led by pastors and served by deacons, independent and congregationally governed, in fellowship with other churches of like faith and order.

ORDINANCES

We believe that the only biblical mode of the ordinance of baptism is immersion; that baptism is for believers only; that it is a testimony of their identity by faith with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection; and that it is a prerequisite for local church membership. We believe that the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is for believers only; is solely a memorial of Christ’s death; and that the body and blood of Christ are not present in the bread and cup.

PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS

We believe in the priesthood of all believers and that we have direct access to God apart from any mediator except Christ. We respect the God-given capacity of individual soul liberty through which each person will give account for living by the dictates of his or her own conscience.

CIVIL GOVERNMENT

We believe that civil government was instituted by God and is still His means of maintaining peace and order among men; that believers here on earth are responsible in the area of civil government and should participate in it to promote and preserve good order in human society; that civil governments and churches (and fellowships of churches) are distinct from each other, must be organizationally separated from each other and neither must seek to control the other.

RAPTURE

We believe in the pre-tribulational rapture and bodily resurrection of the Church at Christ’s imminent coming. Believers will give account for their works at the Judgment Seat of Christ, which will follow the Rapture.

ISRAEL

We believe that God will fulfill the biblical covenants made with the nation of Israel. Though they are now dispersed among the nations, they will be re-gathered in the land of Israel and saved as a nation at the premillennial coming of Christ to the earth. At that time, Christ will begin his Davidic rule over the world for 1,000 years and continue to reign in the eternal state.

RESURRECTION

We believe in the bodily resurrection and judgment of unbelievers after the millennial reign of Christ. We believe in the eternal existence and punishment of all unbelievers in the lake of fire and the eternal existence and blessedness of all believers in the new heavens and earth.